


Brewed Locally

by Amaltheafan



Series: Brewed Locally Series [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Addiction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Child Abuse, Drama, Drug Use, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 05:24:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14098179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaltheafan/pseuds/Amaltheafan
Summary: The truth about Tweek Bros. Coffeehouse is exposed.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Warning, the following story contains mentions of child abuse, drug and alcohol addiction. Viewer discretion is advised.
> 
> Originally posted to Fanfiction.net on June 11, 2017

Another restless night, another cup of coffee. Typical for Tweek Tweak, who sat at his desk, sipping the bitter dark liquid.

Then, just faintly, he heard a noise coming from outside his bedroom. Now, Tweek was used to hearing all kinds of noises at that hour (crickets chirping, owls hooting, mice and underpants gnomes scurrying in the walls) but this was different and as it got closer, he realized what it was. It was the sound of sirens.

He rushed to the window, opened it, looked outside and he saw police cruisers, sirens filling the crisp night air with their blaring sound, blue and red lights reflecting off the flesh snow on the ground. They were barreling down the street and soon, parking right in front of his house.

With their cars parked, police officers got out and two of them walked to the front door, one ringing the doorbell. "Open up, this is the police!" the other officer yelled, banging on the door.

Mr. Tweak opened it, with Mrs. Tweak right behind him. "Can I…help you officers?" Mr. Tweak asked.

"You two are under arrest." the officer who rang the doorbell said.

"What?! Why? On what charges?" Mr. Tweak demanded.

"You two are suspected of lacing your store's coffee with crystal meth and selling it to your customers."

There was a sharp intake of breath from farther in the house. All four adults turned towards it and saw Tweak at the bottom of the stairs, trembling and staring wide eyed at them.

"Tweek! Tweek, you know mommy and I would never do something like that, right? You know us!" Mr. Tweak frantically tried to reassure his son.

"Save it for downtown." The second officer said, grabbing Mr. Tweak's arm and pulling him towards the door. The first officer grabbed Mrs. Tweak by the arm and both Tweak's were lead outside. "No, please! We're innocent, innocent I tell you! Tweek, you have to believe us!" Mrs. Tweak cried out.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?" the first officer said.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh god."

Tweek repeated to himself, watching his parents being taken away. He was trembling more now and he was starting to cry.

A third officer appeared in the doorway. "Son, you have to come with us too. We need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh God." was all Tweek could say as he was lead outside, where he was greeted with the sight of most of the neighborhood in front of his house. Yes indeed, there was quite a crowd, among whom was Craig, who was frantically pushing and shoving his way though it.

"Please, let me through, I need to see Tweek! Move, damn it!" When he got through, he shouted in the direction of several police officers. "Hey, hey you!" An officer turned to face him. Craig continued, "Yeah you there, just what the hell is going on here? Why are you arresting Mr. and Mrs. Tweak? Where are you taking Tweek?"

The officer explained to Craig and the crowd at large, "Mr. and Mrs. Tweak have been accused of mixing a highly dangerous and illegal drug called crystal meth into their store's coffee."

The crowd gasped. Craig could only say, "What?!"

"They're suspected of sneaking drugs into their coffee and selling it to their customers."

"Tweek drinks their coffee!" Craig blurted out. It was the first thing that had come to his mind.

"What?!" Now it was the officer's turn to be shocked.

"I-It's true. Their son, Tweek, drinks the coffee from his parent's store every day. Ask him."

The officer ran to the police cruiser where Tweek was sitting in the back seat, staring ahead. "Boy, I just heard that you drink your parent's coffee every day. Is this true?" the officer asked him. Tweek didn't bother to turn his head as he said barely above a whisper, "It's true."

* * *

Craig and the rest of his family had to go to the police station to answer questions, with Craig giving most of the answers. He told the police everything he could, about Tweek and his parents and their fixation with coffee that they pushed onto their son, by making him drink it day and night. How they insisted that the reason Tweek was so nervous and shook all the time was because he had ADD and not because he was a little boy who drank more coffee everyday than most adults. All of which was backed up not only by Craig's family but also Tweek and Craig's friends and acquaintances and bunch of other people who loved the two boys yaoi art as well.

When the anonymous tip had told the police about Tweek's parents and their meth coffee, they had also given a location where the police would find where the Tweaks had bought said meth. Which turned out to be inside a meth lab inside the McCormick family garage.

Mr. and Mrs. McCormick were arrested for renting their garage out to the meth heads who operated the lab and Kenny and his siblings were taken away by Child Services.

On the morning news, the chief of police gave the early details of the case and asked the people of South Park for a favor. "If you have drank coffee from Tweek Bros. within the last five days, please come to Hell's Pass Hospital to get tested for crystal meth inside your system. These tests have already been done on the Tweak's son and the more people tested, the better. This is vital to the investigation and you would be doing this town a great service." Many Tweek Bros. customers agreed to the tests.

That afternoon, after much questioning, Craig was allowed to see Tweek at the hospital, where he was being monitored in case he showed signs of crystal meth withdrawal.

Police had told Craig the basics about withdrawal, that it was the body's reaction to missing something it had become dependant on, like drugs, and that withdrawal symptoms for crystal meth were very serious. Hence why Tweek was being monitored.

Craig walked into the hospital room, where he found Tweek laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, looking deep in thought.

"Hey Tweek."

Tweek, stirred from his thoughts, looked Craig's way. "Craig!" Tweek hopped off the bed and the two boys met in the middle of the room to hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Tweek said with the beginnings of tears in his eyes. "Ditto." Craig responded, misty eyed himself.

"This has been such a horrible day." Tweek said, clinging to his friend.

"I can't even imagine what you're going through." Craig responded, squeezing back.

The two boys hugged for a bit, pulled away, "Do…do you want to talk about it? I know I'm not the best with this kind of stuff but…" Craig asked while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes…yes, let's talk." Tweek responded.

Both boys hopped up on the bed and got comfortable.

Tweek took a deep breath before speaking. "I…I need to tell you something and this may seem, at first, like it has nothing to do with anything, but I promise you, it does."

"Okay, shoot." Craig said, confused.

"Craig, do you remember when we played Stick of Truth?"

"Yeah." Craig said, even more confused.

"Well, Butters and that Douchebag kid, you remember them right?"

Craig nodded and Tweek continued.

"Well, they were sent to pick me up to play with everyone but I had too many chores at the coffee shop that day. Than I thought, maybe they could help me with one of them so I could get off work sooner. So I sent them to pick up the special ingredients for my family's coffee at Kenny's house."

Craig thought to himself, "Wait, Kenny's house? As in, where your parents were suspected of getting meth from?"

"They got the ingredients and I got off work in time to go play but...you wanna know what Butters told me happened during their delivery? The people who made the special ingredients…attacked them."

"What?"

"They attacked because they thought Butters and Douchebag were, in Butter's words, 'Keps'."

"Keps?"

"That's what he said he heard. When I asked him further, he said that he thought that maybe 'Keps' were their business rivals who also made the special ingredients, that maybe they, for some reason, thought that he and Douchebag were working for the 'Keps'?"

"I don't know, I... I wanted to believe that and just stay out of it but...there was this nagging feeling in the back of my head that just... wouldn't leave me alone and it made me start thinking and...the more I thought...the more the whole operation seemed...off. Just...everything from the 'special ingredients' to the fact it was being made in someone's garage to the fact that the people making said ingredients attacked two little kids for God's sake. And…and thinking…'Keps' kinda sounded like…" Tweek paused, swallowed a lump in his throat. "…cops. And yet…I kept quiet about it all and just let Butters believe in the whole 'rival business', and told him not to mention it to anyone else."

Craig suddenly shouted, "Well he sure as fuck didn't tell me or anyone else anything it seems like, just like you didn't tell me or the police or anyone for that matter!"

"Craig…"

"I don't understand. Why…why didn't you say something sooner!?"

"I was afraid! Afraid that no one would believe me or if they did believe me and it turned out that my parents were innocent and it was just me being paranoid, like always! Or…or that it was true, that my parents really were doing what I thought they were doing…that they really were mixing something bad into their coffee. That would mean that not only they were tricking their customers into drinking it but me too."

Tweek paused, closed his eyes, and turned away from Craig.

"Tweek?" Craig's tone had softened. He could have sworn he could see his friend shudder then, just ever so slightly.

After a moment and before Craig could think of what to say or do, Tweek opened his eyes, and turned back to Craig.

"I was afraid for myself too. I didn't want my parents to be arrested and me being taken away from you and all our friends. I didn't want to lose my home and end up in a place like Kenny and Cartman did. Do you remember? That one time when they were taken away by Child Services and when they got back what they told us about the foster home they stayed in?"

Craig did remember. It was when Kenny's parents and Cartman's mother were arrested for operating meth labs (the McCormick's was real; Ms. Cartman's wasn't). Cartman and the McCormick children were sent to live with an agnostic couple (the Weatherheads) who severely punished feelings of certainly, which included being chained to a wall and hosed down with Dr. Pepper. Though tattling, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and a very stupid Child Services worker, all the children were sent back to their families.

Now both boys knew not all foster/adoptive parents were abusive. While nowhere near perfect, Mr. and Mrs. Broflovski clearly loved their adoptive son Ike just as much as their birth son Kyle. It was just that, being in the foster care system was a game of chance; one never knew whether they would get Broflovskis or Weatherheads.

"Yes, I remember. I remember how horrible they described it." Craig answered.

"Then can you see why I didn't want to take the chance of ending up somewhere like that? Get Kenny's parents in trouble too since this shit was going on at their house and possibly put him and his siblings though all of that shit all over again? They don't deserve that."

Craig didn't say anything.

"Do you understand now? Why I kept quiet about all this?" Tweek asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm starting too…I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay. You're just learning all of this today. It's a lot to take in all at once."

"There's just one thing though." Craig thought for a moment before continuing. "Before today, you didn't say anything to anyone about any of this? Not even to….Kenny? I mean, you were at his house a lot, did you two see each other while you were there?"

"Yes, sometimes we would see each other at a distance but we never talked. We never talked about those pick-ups at all. What happened at his house, stayed at his house."

"He had to have known something, right? His parents use drugs, he had a meth lab in his house before, surely he would have known if there was another one, right?"

"He had to."

"Then how…how do you feel about that?"

Tweek sighed. "If he knew something was going on and kept quiet about it, then I'm sure it was because, like me, he was just a scared kid caught in the middle of his parent's bullshit schemes and I can't be mad at him for that." Tweek paused, "What about you though, how do you feel?"

Craig took a moment before answering. "If he knew… if he knew that you were walking right into a meth lab all this time…if he knew that and didn't even try to talk to you about it, didn't even try to warn you…." Craig's voice dropped to barely above a whisper and took on a different tone. "I'd be angry. I'd be angry as all hell."

Tweek could see Craig's hands balling up into fists, jaw clenched, brows knot together, eyes glaring past Tweek, no doubt at whom it was directed towards.

"If you get the chance, you think you and Kenny should talk."

"What?!"

Craig looked dumbfounded at his friend.

Tweek continued on.

"All I'm asking is that before you go and kick his ass, you should at least give him a chance to explain himself."

Craig didn't respond.

"You don't have to be all kum ba yah about it, just hear him out, listen to his side of things."

Craig looked Tweek dead in the eyes.

"You're really want me to talk to him that badly?"

"I would like that, yes."

Craig sighed. "…I'll try."

"Thank you." Tweek said sincerely, then added in a less tone, "And heck, if you really want to, you could always beat him up afterwards."

Nether boy knew what else to say so they turned their attention towards the window and watched the snow fall outside it.

After a few minutes of silence, Craig felt a pressure on his shoulder and turned to see Tweek leaning on him. Tweek let out a big yawn, than said, "Sorry, I'm just…really tired."

"It's fine, it has been a long day." Craig said.

Truth be told, the contact didn't bother Craig in the slightest bit.

What did bother him was the look of pure exhaustion in Tweek's eyes, which were fighting to stay open.

Just then, the door opened and a nurse popped her head into the room. "Alright, it's time to go Craig. Tweek needs to get some sleep."

The two boys said their goodbyes, which included one more hug before Craig was lead out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Tweek's and some of the Tweek Bros. Coffee shop customer's drug test results came back.

All of them were positive for crystal meth.

The last cup of coffee Tweek had drank had also been tested and that too had come back positive for crystal meth.

Tweek was immediately sent to a drug rehabilitation center.

With the positive drug tests, the police had the grounds for a warrant to search Tweek Bros. Coffee. What they found inside was more evidence against Mr. and Mrs. Tweak, who would go to trial.

Meanwhile, enough evidence was gathered against Mr. and Mrs. McCormick and they too would go to trial.

A town meeting was held that night.

"Rabble, Rabble, Rabble!" the townspeople furious shouts rang throughout the community center.

Mayor Daniels tried to calm them down. "People people! Please calm down! I know all of you are very upset…"

Jimbo stood up and shouted at the mayor, "Upset? Upset!? We're furious!"

Ned chimed in, "Mmmm, we're scared!"

Jimbo continued. "They used us! They made us think we were friends and they fucking used us! And now, thanks to them, we could lose Tweek forever!"

"And if that happens, our town will lose one of it's gay kids and break up one of it's favorite couples!" Randy added.

"And that's why we're here, to make sure that doesn't happen but shouting 'rabble, rabble' won't do any good." Mayor Daniels said before adding, "What will is shutting the fuck up!"

The crowd shut up.

"Thank you." She said in more calm and polite sounding manner, "And here with a solution is Thomas and Laura Tucker." She stepped aside for the Tuckers to take her place on the podium.

Thomas spoke.

"Thank you, mayor. My fellow citizens, as you all know, Richard and Helen Tweak are being tried for slipping meth into their coffee and selling it to their customers. They even gave this tainted coffee to their own son, Tweek, who as a result, has developed a serious addiction. At this moment, he is being treated for said addiction but, when he's done, he'll need a place to stay. Unfortunately, it won't be with our family, for we simply cannot afford all the treatments he'll need, now and in the future. Show the rough estimate of how much it'll all cost."

A projection screen dropped down behind the podium. It light up and the rough estimate of the cost of all the medical and psychological treatments Tweek needed were displayed for all to see.

The crowd studied the numbers.

A collective gasp.

"Oh my." Liane Cartman said.

"That's a lot of mother fucking money." A random citizen pointed out.

Laura spoke up, "Yes, yes it is. See why we can't afford to keep Tweek? That's why we're asking if any of you think you can."

Randy Marsh spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Black. "Steve, Linda, what about you?" Your family is the richest in town. Surely you of all people could afford all of Tweek's expenses. What do you two think about adopting him?"

Steve and Linda Black looked at each other before Steve spoke, "Actually, we've already talked about this a little bit. We got to see the rough estimates before the meeting and…"

'Wait, you did?"

"Yes, when we first saw the numbers, we immediately thought of the Blacks. We got together, showed them. We were about to tell you all but well, you jumped the gun on us." Thomas explained.

"And, what do you think?" Randy questioned again.

Steve sighed, than explained, "And there were some good points made. You're right, we can afford Tweek' treatments. Also, he's one of our son's closest friends and I believe it would be the best thing for Tweek to be able to stay with people that he knows and is comfortable with. But..."

"But what?"

"You have to understand; this is a huge decision to make. This is Tweek's life we are talking about and this all just happened and we don't want to rush into things. We need time to think things through. That's why…we want a plan b, just in case."

"And we completely understand. So, any takers?" Laura finished.

A few murmurs among the townsfolk.

Randy turned to the Broflovskis. "Gerald, Shelia, I'm sure you could afford him…"

"Have you forgotten that we're already taking care of Stuart and Carol's children and trying to find them a home?" Shelia retorted.

"…Oh yeah, that's right…but…but your family is one of the only ones that can afford Tweek's medical bills…"

"The McCormick children don't come with bills, why don't you and your family take care of them?" Gerald piped in.

Randy put his hand to his chin and pondered for a moment.

"Oh no, no! We are not taking them Randy!" Randy's wife, Sharon, said from his side.

Randy scowled and said, "Oh here we go again. First you're against adopting Tweek, now you're against adopting one of our son's best friends? What's your deal, Sharon!?"

"My deal is that I'm against those children living with someone who can't admit he's an addict!"

Well; that got everyone else in the room's attention, as they shifted it onto the Marshes.

"W-what?" Randy stuttered.

"There are three children who just got taken away from their addict parents and one who will be a recovering addict thanks to his parents and the last thing any of them need is an in denial alcoholic step-father and I'm sure that Child Services would agree with me!"

Randy didn't say anything. For what felt like a long time but was probably less than a minute, no one said anything. A heavy silence hung in the air. Then Randy cut though it.

"Ye-yeah? Well…if you think I can't take care of them, then…then Gerald shouldn't be either!" Randy shouted, pointing at Gerald.

Shelia went. "What What Whaaat?!"

"What?! Why the fuck not?" Gerald demanded.

"Oh, don't act so innocent. Remember that time you cheesed out and fought a little boy in your underwear, huh? Member that, Gerald?"

A while ago, some children were getting high off of cat urine (dubbed cheesing), so a law was passed banning all cats in South Park. But then Gerald, who was the one who had gotten the ban passed in the first place, got high on cat pee himself and ended up fighting Kenny (who was also high as a kite) in public, with Gerald wearing nothing but his underwear. Needless to say, it wasn't one of Broflovski family's proudest moments.

"Ten years! It was a momentary relapse after ten years and I haven't cheesed since! How long has it been since your last drink, breakfast?" Gerald yelled back.

"It was a tasting of French wine and it was classy!" Randy shouted back.

"Pfff, classy my ass. Sharon's right, you are an alcoholic and you know it!"

Shelia joined the conversation. "Randy, Sharon has talked to me about this. She's really worried about you and I am too. Think about your health. Think of the example you're setting for your children. I really think…"

"Oh, oh so now I'm a bad father, is that it?" Randy accused.

"What? No! I didn't say that! What I meant was that you could do better for yourself and your children if you admit you have a problem and get help for it."

"I don't need help, you fat bitch!"

"Don't call my wife a fat bitch, you alcoholic piece of shit!" Gerald shouted, getting in between Shelia and Randy.

"I'm not an alcoholic, cat pee guy!"

"At least I can admit my addiction and take steps to quit, unlike you!"

"And that makes you better than me? Huh? Think you're better than me? A better father!?"

"Both our wife's surely think so!"

Sharon looked away.

Shelia yelled out. "Gerald! What the hell?"

Randy punched Gerald in the face, knocking the other man unto the hard wooden floor.

"Gerald!" Shelia cried out, looked down onto her now unconscious husband, turned to face Randy and punched him in the face, knocking him to the floor.

"Randy!" Jimbo shouted, punching Shelia.

"Shelia!" Sharon punched Jimbo.

"Jimbo!" Ned punched Sharon.

Someone else punched Ned.

More punches were thrown.

Insults and chairs started flying across the room and soon there was an all out brawl among the townsfolk.

The only ones not fighting were the Blacks, the Tuckers, the mayor's bodyguards and the mayor herself, who covered her face with her hands and letting out a long exasperated groan.

"You're staring at him again." Token said.

"Huh?" Craig was pulled out of his thoughts and looked at his friend.

It was the next day in the cafeteria and Craig, along with his friends, Clyde, Token, and Jimmy were eating lunch together.

"You're staring at Kenny…again." Token repeated.

Indeed, Craig had been staring at Kenny from across the room, as he had been on and off all morning.

"I'm just…thinking about what to say to him." Craig said.

"You know you don't have to talk to him, right?" Clyde spoke up.

"Yes, I do."

"But didn't Tweek only suggest that you talk to Kenny?" Token said.

Craig had told him along with Clyde and Jimmy about the hospital visit.

"Yes but I know he really wanted me to."

"Well if you w-wanna talk, you better d-do it while you've still got the cha…while you still got the chaa…the chaaa…the chaaaaa…while you still got the ch-chance." Jimmy said.

"I know but first I have to figure what to say and how to approach him. I mean, I know he's not the one who made the meth or gave it to Tweek but…I mean…I suspected that he knew something and Tweek did too but…to actually hear just how much he knew…"

Kenny McCormick had known about his parents renting out their garage to drug dealers, who he also knew had turned it into a meth lab. He had also known that the Tweaks brought meth from said lab and that Tweek was the one to always pick it up.

But he swore, he thought that Mr. and Mrs. Tweek were using it only for themselves and using Tweek to pick it up for them. The idea they were putting it into their son's and their customer's coffees hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Do you believe him? When he says he didn't know what they were doing to Tweek?" Clyde asked.

"Yes. I believe him. That's not the problem. I told you all what the real problem was, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did." Token said. Jimmy and Clyde nodded.

Craig let out a groan before burying his head in his arms and laying them on the table. "What am I gonna do?"

"One of us could t-talk to him for you." Jimmy suggested. "Just tell us what to s-say and we'll d-d-do it."

Craig lifted his head and thought about that for a good few seconds, before answering his friend. "Tempting but no, I have to do this myself. Thanks for offering though."

Once again, Craig's eyes drifted to Kenny. Only this time, Kenny was looking straight back at him. Their eyes met and they stared at each other what felt like forever but probably was only a few seconds before dropping their gazes at the same time.

Craig thought to himself, "I will talk to him…eventually."

Craig thought about approaching Kenny several times that afternoon but never went through with it.

Kenny thought about approaching Craig too but; like Craig, he lost his nerve every time.

There was a car parked in front of the house, a different one than usual.

"It must belong to whoever wants to foster us" Karen commented.

Shelia had messaged Kyle, Ike, Kevin, Kenny, and Karen and told all of them to come straight to the Broflovski house right after school. There was a couple interested in fostering the McCormick children but she hadn't said whom, only that they lived in town and that they wanted to talk.

"You think they'll be nice?" Karen asked Kenny.

They and the rest of the children were on the sidewalk right in of the Broflovski house, searching their brains to see if anyone could recognize the car. It was a really nice sports car that none of them recognized.

"I hope so, Karen." Kenny responded. "I really hope so."

The walk from the sidewalk to the front door seemed longer than usual.

Kevin's hand hovered over the doorknob for a few seconds before finally turning it and opening the door.

The children walked inside the house, into the living room.

Where right there, having tea with Mr. and Mrs. Broflovski, were none other than...

"Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave?!" Kenny and Kyle exclaimed at the same time.

"Hi ya kids!" Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave said together.

"Wait, You know these guys?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah we do." Kyle answered before asking the two men, "But what are you two doing here? Wait...Are you...?"

"Yes, we're the ones interested in fostering Kevin, Kenny, and Karen." Mr. Slave said.

"R-really?" Kenny asked.

"Yes, you see, Mr. Slave and I, we've actually have been talking about fostering and adopting for a while now and when we heard that none other than our old friend Kenny and his siblings needed a new home, well, it just seemed…right…you know? But we still would like to talk to you kids first before making any decisions. So, mind if we talk with you all for a bit?"

"No, not at all! That would be great!" Karen said.

And so they talked and talked and talked some more, first over tea, then over a home-cooked dinner that Big Gay Al had prepared and brought over, which to the McCormick children, looked and tasted like a meal fit for a king, with every last bite savored.

They all talked until finally the two men had to go home. They still had to think some more before making their final decision but promised to let everyone know what it was soon.

Later the night, Kyle and Kenny were in Kyle's bedroom, talking with their friends, Stan, Cartman, and Butters over Skype video conference call, recounting what had happened.

"Dude, that's awesome." Stan commented.

"Yeah…" Kenny said in an oddly subdued voice.

"Wow slow down Ken, don't sound so excited." Cartman said.

"Yeah, It thought you would be more happy. Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave are awesome." Butters said.

"I know they are and I'm glad that they're considering adopting us. It's just…" Kenny began to explain before he was interrupted by a loud dinging sound.

It was Kyle's cell phone. Kyle glanced briefly at it, than he looked again, longer this time, reading the name on his cell phone screen over and over.

"Kyle? Who is it?" Stan asked.

"It's Craig!" Kyle answered.

"What?!" Everyone else said together.

"He sent me a text message!" Kyle explained.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Read it!" Stan said.

Kyle unlocked his phone to get to his messages and read Craig's.

"It says 'tell Kenny to meet me tomorrow at recess by the big tree on the playground. We need to talk. Also, tell him not to wear his hood.'"

"Why no hood?" Cartman inquired.

"Hold on, I'm getting to that." Kyle went on reading the message. "He also says, 'I want to see Kenny's face while talking to him.'"

"Tell him I will talk to him. With no hood." Kenny told Kyle.

"I don't know, Ken, are you sure about this?" Kyle asked his friend.

"Yeah man, what's if it's a trap? What if he kicks your ass instead?" Cartman suggested.

"If he does I'll let him." Kenny answered.

"What?!" The rest of the boys said all at once.

"If Craig wants to kick my ass, I'll let him. I won't even fight back." Kenny explained.

"What the hell, dude?" Stan exclaimed.

"But why?" Butters asked.

"You all know why!" Kenny shouted.

No, none of his friends understood why but before anyone could ask him to elaborate, Kenny was grabbing the phone out of Kyle's hands.

"What the hell?" Kyle said.

And quickly texting back a reply with one hand while keeping Kyle at arm's length with the other.

"Don't do this!" Kyle pleaded.

_Deal_

_He'll be there_

"Stop!" Kyle kept pleading.

Then hit send.

All before Kyle was able to snatch his phone back.

"What the hell Kenny?!"

"I'm going to talk to him!"

Kyle's phone dinged again. It was Craig's response, which was.

_Good, see ya there_


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you sure you want to go though with this, Ken?" Stan asked.

It was recess the next day and Kenny was on his way to the big tree on the playground. Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Butters and many other children were right behind him.

"Yeah man, Craig's gonna whoop your ass, I know it." Cartman piped up.

"Maybe…maybe he's not? Maybe Craig really does just wanna talk?" Kyle suggested.

"You sure about that Kyle?" Cartman asked.

No, Kyle wasn't sure at all but he wanted to believe that one of his best friends wasn't going to get beaten to a pulp.

"You can still back out of this. We wouldn't think any less of you." Stan said.

"I'd think less of me." Kenny sighed. "Look, guys…I appreciate all of you worrying about me but I have to do this."

They were almost there. Kenny could see Craig was on his way too, with more children behind him.

Finally, both boys met in front of the tree, surrounded by their peers.

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like that, the playground was usually alive with children running around, playing all kinds of games, and having all sorts of fun.

Not on that day. Every child at South Park Elementary that day was gathered around that tree, watching and waiting.

Kenny removed his hood.

Craig began to speak. "I believe you, when you say that you didn't know what Tweek's parents were really doing with the meth. However, that doesn't change the fact that you did know exactly what kind of situation Tweek was walking into, the kind of people he was dealing with, people who had no problem attacking Butters. Did you know that about that?"

"Only since yesterday."

"Are you at all surprised that they would do that?"

"No, no not really."

"Okay then, answer this for me, what do you think would have happened if anything had gone wrong with those dealings? What do you think those people would have done to Tweek?"

"Attacked him, beaten him up…" Kenny really didn't want to finish that thought.

"Killed him?"

But Craig had done it for him.

Kenny shuddered before answering, "Yes."

"So you just let Tweek waltz in, knowing what those people were capable of, without warning him?"

"Yes."

Craig closed the gap between them, grabbed Kenny by the front of his parka and pulled the other boy towards him until their faces were inches apart.

"Kenny!"

"Craig!"

Craig glared at Kenny, who closed his eyes and braced himself, ready to take the punches…

…...that didn't come.

After a few seconds without feeling anything, Kenny opened his eyes and saw that tears were also beginning to well up in Craig's.

"Why?" Craig said, furious tone now mixed with a pleading one. "Why?...Why didn't you say something? Anything? Why!?"

Kenny swallowed a lump in his throat and spoke.

"Do… do you remember…the last time my parents were arrested for housing meth?"

Craig's eyes widened, he let go of the parka and pulled away from Kenny's face but kept eye contact.

"…Yes, I remember. You and your siblings…were taken away by Child Services…put in a foster home." Craig answered, sounding quite stunned. That reaction puzzled Kenny but he pushed that thought aside for the moment and pressed onward.

"With a bat shit crazy religious couple that were obsessed with ambiguity and if you weren't like that too, you were chained and hosed down with Dr Pepper! We couldn't get the fuck away from them fast enough!"

Kenny had found his voice and it was filled with strong conviction.

"I kept quiet about the meth lab because I didn't want to put myself and my siblings though that shit all over again! I was trying to protect my family! I was trying to keep us together…with our alcoholic parents…and our frozen waffle and poptart dinners…drunken arguments every…single…night… Kenny paused. Tears began running down his cheeks. "Didn't want to lose all of that." voice cracking, with all earlier conviction gone.

"I was so afraid of ending up with horrible foster parents again, that I didn't even consider we could end up with good ones, decent people that would actually treat me and my brother and sister right…for once!"

"I let my parents get away with renting out our garage to drug dealers. I let the drug dealers get away with running the meth lab. I let Tweek walk into that same lab, among those fucking meth heads, day in and day out. And because of that…Tweek's parents were able to poison him with the same drugs that I knew that they were buying. Which could have…at any time…"

A pause.

"…Which could have killed him."

From talks with the police and other adults, the children now all knew that it only took one dose of crystal meth to kill an adult and Tweek, a child, had unwittingly had a lot more than one.

Kenny continued, "Tweek could have died and for what?" More trembling, more tears that just wouldn't stop.

"I know there's nothing I can say that can make up for what I've done. All I can say is that I'm sorry. To Tweek, to you, to everyone, I'm so so sorry."

Craig looked Kenny over. Looked over the other boy's now shaking body, over his now tear stained face, into his watering eyes. He held that gaze for a few seconds before taking a deep breath, and speaking.

"Before he was taken away to rehab, I got to see Tweek when he was in the hospital. He had some things to tell me. You want to know what he told me? Before all of this, he had suspected something shady was going on with his parent's 'special ingredients'."

This caused some murmurs among the crowd. Craig continued.

"He didn't know exactly what it was but he knew something was wrong with the whole operation but like you, he was scared. Scared of sending his parents to jail, scared of ending up somewhere like you did. Yeah, he also remembered what you said about your foster home. He didn't want to go though that. He also didn't want to possibly send your parents to jail and put you though that all over again either."

"He also said that you two saw each other when he was making his deliveries. That because of that and your past experience with your parents and drugs, he was sure that you knew something was going on too and if so, he was sure you kept quiet for the same reasons he did, that you were just two scared kids both got caught in the middle in your parent's bullshit schemes." Craig paused, then said, "That's why, he wasn't mad at you."

While Kenny and almost everyone else were processing what they had just heard, someone asked, "What about you?"

"Huh?" Craig looked among the crowd behind Kenny, where the voice had come from. It was Kyle, who was right behind his friend. "I said, what about you? How do you feel about Kenny?" Kyle reiterated. Everyone looked to Craig, who in turn faced Kenny.

"I…I at least know…that I don't want to kick your ass anymore. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm still mad and I'm not ready to forgive you yet. I need…I just need some time…to think things over."

And with that, Craig turned around and walked away.

"Kenny…"

Kenny turned around, and came face to face with his little sister, Karen.

"Karen…"

He noticed that her face was also stained with tears.

Karen rushed over, and hugged him. He hugged her back.

* * *

Almost a week after the 'meth coffee' investigation began, the Blacks and Big Gay Al and Mr. Slave finally decided to adopt the children. Well, you can imagine just how happy that made everyone and how much happier they were still when both couples were approved to start fostering (the children had to stay with their respective foster parents for a year before they could be their legal adoptive parents).

Stuart and Carol McCormick and Richard and Helen Tweak went to their separate trials. There was much evidence against them, including many testimonies, among which were their own children's. All were found guilty and all were sentenced to prison.

The McCormick children were moved in as soon as they could into their new foster home.

Tweek would have to wait until he was done with rehab, which ended up lasting three months. When his time was up, the Blacks were allowed to spring him out and take him back to South Park.

South Park. Despite of the crazy and just plain fucked up things that went on there, it was still home. Everyone that Tweek cared about, they made it home. Craig, Jimmy, Clyde, Token…

Token. Tweek didn't know how to even begin to repay him and his parents for what they were doing for him. Tweek knew he wasn't going to be the easiest kid to take care of and the Blacks knew this, yet they were still choosing to help him, they were still choosing to take him into their home, into their family. They were the whole reason that Tweek was on his way back, when he wasn't sure if he would ever see his hometown or any of his friends ever again.

The Black family car was approaching the town limits and when it got close enough, "What the…" Tweek said, looking in between Mr. and Mrs. Black out the windshield and seeing what seemed like a large crowd of people on the sides of Main Street. When the car got closer, it became clear that yes, swarms of people were lining up Main Street.

Some were holding up signs that said things like:

'WELCOME HOME TWEEK'

'WAY TO GO CHAMP'

'WE MISSED YOU'

'WE LOVE YOU TWEEK'

Some people were holding up yaoi art of Tweek and Craig.

People were cheering, crying out Tweek's name.

It felt like parade, with the Black's car as the one and only float.

"Why am I not shocked?" Token said, with slight amusement in his tone.

"When you said the town was going to be welcoming me back, you meant it." Tweek said in awe, staring at the crowd outside.

"Everyone really missed you." Mrs. Black said sincerely.

All though town, there were people showing just how much they missed Tweek, including more signs and yaoi art. Somewhere among them, Tweek could have sworn he saw a familiar looking orange parka.

He had meant what he said to Craig. He wasn't angry at Kenny then and hearing just what the other boy knew and his reasons for keeping quiet had only made him more firm on all the points he had made that afternoon at the hospital.

During the course of his rehabilitation, Tweek was allowed visits from his foster family to be and allowed to letters and gifts from them as well as his friends, all of which were in the back of the family car.

In one of Craig's letters, he wrote about his and Kenny's talk. After the hospital visit with Craig, Tweek started feeling like he had come on too strongly when suggesting he talk to Kenny, especially since he had done so the same day Craig had found out about the whole messed up situation. He explained that he wasn't upset with Tweek; in fact, he thanked Tweek for encouraging him to do so in the first place. For even though it was far from easy, it still had felt good to let those feelings out, for him and Kenny both.

Things were still somewhat awkward between Craig and Kenny but at least they were getting better. At the very least they could be in the same room together and actually talk instead of just awkwardly stare at each other from across the room.

Tweek wanted to have his own talk with Kenny but that would have to wait for another day.

More people were standing outside the front of the tall stone fence surrounding the Black's mansion. Police officers kept the crowd back as the fence's iron gates opened, the Black's car went through, and continued to do so until the gates were promptly closed.

Tweek could see a small crowd gathered in the front yard. It was Craig and Jimmy and Clyde and their families, holding up their own banner, which read.

WELCOME HOME TWEEK

The car stopped and was put into park. The doors were unlocked.

In a flash, Tweek unbuckled his seatbelt, threw open the door, jumped out of his seat and out of the car, and ran. Craig ran too and the two boys closed the gap and embraced each other in a firm, warm, longed for hug.

After a few moments, all the other children joined in on the hug.

Thomas Tucker turned to Robert Black and said to him, with full sincerity, "Thank you."

"Thomas, you've already thanked us…"

"You've brought Tweek into your family, back home, back to my son; so from me, him, everyone else, I'll say it again, thank you." Thomas said firmly.

Robert didn't say anything, just went back to watching the reunion.

Things could never go back to the way they were, all everyone could do from then on, was keep moving forward.


End file.
